In London’s elegant and historic Burlington Arcade, we visit a master who blurs the boundaries between art and design. Gagosian is presenting “Approximate Objects”, an exhibition of 16 editioned sculptures produced by Richard Artschwager (1923–2013) between 1969 and 2012.
The exhibition, which opened on 18 March and will run until 17 April 2026, reveals how the artist blended his background in furniture-making with the most intellectual currents of modern art.
Artschwager: A Carpenter’s Artistic Revolution
Richard Artschwager’s story is one of the most striking examples of how an artist’s destiny can be transformed by catastrophe. After serving in intelligence during World War II, he turned to furniture-making. Following a fire in 1958 that destroyed his workshop, he returned to fine art — but this time bringing with him the discipline and materials of carpentry (Formica, wood, and rubber).
As art historian Germano Celant put it, Artschwager created “almost furniture” or, in the artist’s own words, “approximate objects”. He fused Pop Art’s everyday objects, Minimalism’s geometric precision, and Conceptual Art’s intellectual depth into a single crucible. For him, no single movement was ever enough, because as he famously said: “-isms are usually a sign that something has already died.”
A Visual Punctuation Mark: The “Blp”
One of the most iconic elements of both the exhibition and Artschwager’s art is undoubtedly the oval forms he called “blps”. Artschwager used these forms as “visual punctuation marks”.
Locations (1969): This work in the exhibition is a kind of “make your own blp” kit consisting of five oval forms. The artist leaves the placement entirely to the viewer or the space. During the exhibition, you can “hunt” for examples of these blps not only on the gallery walls but also as focal points in unexpected public areas of Mayfair.
Touched Art and Functionless Objects
Artschwager’s works exist in that strange gap between what an object is and what it resembles:
Four Approximate Objects (1970–91): The work that inspired the exhibition’s title consists of four metal objects housed in a mahogany and Formica case, designed to be touched rather than merely looked at. The artist described it as “an attempt to make things the way the hand sees them”.
Yes/No (1968–74): A plastic bowling ball inscribed with “Yes” and “No” — the sculptural embodiment of playful ambiguity.
Table (Wannabe) (2009) and Mirror/Mirror (2012): These elegant sculptures reflect the formal characteristics of the tables and mirrors whose names they bear, yet paradoxically refuse to fulfil their actual functions (to hold things or to reflect).
Chair/Chair (1990): Unlike many of Artschwager’s other furniture-sculptures, this piece was produced in an edition of 100 and can actually be used as a chair. However, it still carries the artist’s questioning traces of material and design philosophy.
If you want to see how time and space are bent by Artschwager’s distinctive humour in works such as Time Piece (1989):
Dates: 18 March 2026 – 17 April 2026
Venue: Gagosian, Burlington Arcade
Address: London, United Kingdom
Extra: Don’t forget to explore the artist’s publications and prints in the reading room downstairs.
